artist

October 22, 2014 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

Taking Note of God’s Creative Hand

In the beginning God created. It’s easy to see that when we step outside, but we need to remember that it’s God Who gives breath to our creativity, too.

God’s been speaking to my heart about creation lately. About everything coming from nothing. About nothing being here that He didn’t create. About me being allowed to be part of the creative process. About understanding every that word I write comes from Him.

I mean, I *knew* this . . . but God is reminding me.

God continues to create inward and outward.

First stop. Rejoicing in His creation.

I’ve traveled to various places around the world, and the awe of God’s creative process hit me hard on one trip to the Czech Republic.

As I hiked the sun-kissed, wild-flower-speckled, rolling hills of the Czech countryside, my soul rejoiced over the beauty and the fact it was God who directed me (by asking me to go on the trip and share His good news) to those green grassy hills. More than once I wanted to stretch out my arms and twirl with abandon. “The hills are alive with the Sound of Music. . . .”

As rambunctious teens kicked around a red rubber ball and two toddlers chased bubbles, I felt a cloak of honor wrap around my shoulders. Who am I to be given such a gift of this place? Of these people? I wondered.

Where have YOU been amazed at God’s creation? @TriciaGoyer

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And as I’ve been thinking about this over the last couple of days, my jaw has dropped to my chest more than once, considering some of the beautiful creation I’ve been able to experience:

Alaska

Drifting by a mountainous, blue and white glacier with the sounds of seals splitting the air.
Watching a black bear catch hefty salmon while I stood on a boardwalk five feet away.
Walking through a coastal rainforest so thick with moss and ferns that it appeared spray-painted lime green (and even more spectacular was the bounce of my feet on the cushy ground).

Pennsylvania and Ohio

The clomping sound of a horse’s hooves on pavement.
The golden light spreading over harvested fields of stubble.
Trees where only the strongest yellow and orange leaves still clung to branches.
Hills that rose and fell with quaint farmhouses dotting their expanse.

Montana

Cupping snowballs in my hand and sharing them with my daughter.
Gazing up at pines trimmed in lacy ice patterns.
The crunch and squeak of my boots over the snow.

Add in: the Czech Republic, Miami, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, Branson, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Pittsburg, Ireland (only to change planes), London (only to change planes and have a spot of tea), Tyler, Texas, Naples, Florida, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and a dozen other states between Arkansas and Montana as we DROVE to see our family.

The joy of witnessing God’s creation was a gift to me.

And the truth is, the glory of His creation is around me every time I step out my door.

Second stop. Allowing Him to do His creative work in me.

Creating is scary. It risks rejection. It risks our “works” not living up to the ideal in our head.

Yet when we create, we use the gift God offered to man alone. When we create, we display God’s image, and we allow His breath (inspiration) to fill us.

“Our creativity comes from within a context, the context of our life as a creation of God, who is the Author and Perfecter, the Artist. From within that context we can unearth what we have to offer, and we can learn to be available to the creative offerings around us.” —Alice Bass, The Creative Life

What is creation?

As a noun it’s an exhibit of God’s glory. As a verb it’s an exhibit of God’s glory.

How amazing is that?

Today, no matter where you are, ask God to turn your heart toward His creation.

Today, no matter who you are, seek to allow God’s creative breath to flow through you.

To do so is to affirm that you realize your part in God’s plan of displaying His glory.

My inner “creation” is an exhibit of God’s glory! @TriciaGoyer

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Today God is busy at work creating. Some of His creative work you’ll see when you step out your door. Some you’ll experience as you let your creative juices flow. Both are from Him.

Steps You Can Take

Go on a walk in your neighborhood or to your favorite park
Bring along a notebook and pen or camera and log the beautiful creation you find.
Take time to pray and thank God for being the Master Creator.
Ask yourself how you can honor God with your own creating ability today!

Prayer

God, your creativity and intricate design astound me. Thank you for making such a beautiful world full of wonders. Help me take time to notice the little things around me that point to you, and may I use my gift of creation to honor you.

More Resources:

The Creative Life by Alice Bass

Unlocking the Heart of the Artist by Matt Tommey

Finding Divine Inspiration by J. Scott McElroy

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May 30, 2014 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

Father’s Day Give Art, Give Appreciation

I’m very excited about John’s Father’s Day gift. Usually he gets a nice lunch, and maybe some type of tool. I still might get him a tool (hello, Home Depot!), but I also wanted to give him a gift that would hang around for a while–literally–and show him my appreciation.

One of my favorite artists is Ruth Simons from Gracelaced.com. I literally stock Ruth’s Facebook page because:

1. She’s always creating something beautiful, and she gives us glimpses into the process.

2. She’s a work-at-home mom of six man cubs! And they are handsome!

Ruth has some SWEET Father’s Day art for sale in her store … but first, I wanted to share a little about her. I asked Ruth a few questions, and these are the answers:

Me: Tell me about your passion for art? Where did it start? How do you feed your passion?

Ruth: I think I’ve been interested in art for as long as I can remember. I was always drawing and imitating artists as a little girl. I never pursued it formally until my last year of college for fear that it was not the “acceptable” thing to do with academic scholarships and career-driven trajectory. It was freeing when I began to make choices about my life for the right reasons and for the purpose of glorifying God. When I stopped living purely for myself, I began sensing the freedom to express myself creatively; the creation of beautiful things is ultimately all about reflecting the Creator. How do I feed my passion for art? It seems that the more I study the what He has created, the more I’m inspired to echo it.

Me: You and your husband are blessed with six boys. How do you balance being a mom and being an artist?

Ruth: Balance isn’t always easy with a home business. However, because art is something I can share with my children, we pretty much paint together every afternoon during naptime for the little ones. Kids learn so well through imitation that just painting and spending time next to one another provides so much encouragement and inspiration for them. I do most of my work on the blog and for the business at night, after they are all in bed. I think, as with anything, you must pre-determine what your priorities are, and what your family culture will be. From there, all endeavors, aspirations, and interests fall in place as you make decisions determined by those most important factors.

Me: I love visiting your shoppe and picking up pieces now and then for myself. How do you choose what to paint?

Ruth: The artwork in my shoppe are usually things I created, not with the shoppe in mind, but with real people–including my own family– in mind as the recipients. I think I’m most inspired with the opportunity to bless, rather than the opportunity to showcase. Amazingly, when the heart is bent on blessing and making much of God’s Word and His glory…somehow he magnifies our giftings, and we get to participate in something much bigger than we set out to do.

Me: Finally … anything else that you want to share?

Ruth: If there is one thing I would share with any aspiring artist or lover of creativity…it’s that comparison and envying another’s ability is a joy and creativity thief. I’ve heard it said: If you want to write like C.S. Lewis, don’t imitate Lewis’ writings; instead, simply read everything C.S. Lewis read, and be inspired by what he was inspired by. Which is to say: We often find the greatest encouragement, inspiration, and strength, not by recreating something we admire, but finding admiration in what inspires all of us to proclaim that thing that is worthy, in different ways. That’s what I’m striving toward day by day, running the race of life…and my artistic journey…with my eye on the beauty of Christ, alone.

Visit Ruth!!

www.gracelaced.com

www.gracelaced.com/blog

www.gracelaced.com/store

facebook.com/gracelaced

instagram.com/gracelaced

For Father’s Day:

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Finally John’s gift in our home!

What is your favorite piece from Ruth’s shoppe?

September 4, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 4 Comments

Are You a Born Artist?

I was raised in a home with no art appreciation, no music, no reading. My parents were TV people–soap operas, HBO, sports. I can never remember music playing in our house. I can’t remember ever having a storybook read to me. They weren’t very spiritual people either. In fact there was no spiritual heritage until my mom and grandma got saved when I was in 2nd grade.

When I was in the 6th grade, we moved about a mile from the library. I loved it! I read TONS. I drew. I dreamed. I listened to the radio. (Okay, it was ’80s music, but I listened.)

How has your heritage affected your talents and your life? @TriciaGoyer

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It wasn’t until I was 27 years that I met my biological dad. And guess what? His mother was an artist. His sister makes quilts. His brother and numerous cousins write. My sister sings. My other sister is very crafty. My other sister is a photographer and web designer. My grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great (you get the picture) were missionaries . . . from all the way back to Luther, or so I’m told.

It was amazing to discover a spiritual and artistic heritage I never knew. It was “there” but it wasn’t until later I discovered why. It was in my genes. Another thing: my dad is a huge history buff, and guess what I write?

Are you a born artist? @TriciaGoyer is! Read more about her #heritage:

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Sometimes things like these are hard to understand, but very cool. What have you been surprised to learn about your heritage? How has your heritage affected who you are? Share below!

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July 29, 2013 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

Podcast: Living Inspired: Mother Dolores and Alexandra Kuykendall

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen.

Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

This week on Living Inspired I’m excited to be bringing you four phenomenal guests! Mother Dolores, the nun who kissed Elvis and Alexandra Kuykendall.

Sign up below for your chance to win a copy of Mother Dolores’ memoir, The Ear of the Heart or Alexandra Kuykendall’s memoir, The Artist’s Daughter.

**Due to shipping cost, giveaway open to US only.**

More about Mother Dolores and The Ear of the Heart (Ignatius Press, 2013): Dolores Hart stunned Hollywood in 1963, when after ten highly successful feature films, she chose to enter a contemplative monastery. Now, fifty years later, Mother Dolores gives this fascinating account of her life, with co-author and life-long friend, Richard DeNeut.

Dolores was a bright and beautiful college student when she made her film debut with Elvis Presley in Paramount’s 1957 Loving You. She acted in nine more movies with other big stars such as Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn and Myrna Loy. She also gave a Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play The Pleasure of His Company and appeared in two television shows, including The Virginian. A new chapter in her life occurred while playing Saint Clare in the movie Francis of Assisi, which was filmed on location in Italy.

Born Dolores Hicks to a complicated and colorful Chicago family, Mother Hart has traveled a charmed yet challenging road in her journey toward God, serenity and, yes, love. She entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn., at the peak of her career, not in order to leave the glamorous world of acting she had dreamed of since childhood, but in order to answer a mysterious summons she heard with the “ear of the heart”. While contracted for another film and engaged to be married, she gave up everything to become a bride of Christ. Lavishly illustrated with 64 pages of photos.

“Listen and attend with the ear of your heart.”
Saint Benedict

“Mother Dolores Hart is a remarkable woman with a remarkable story-one of love, devotion and faith.”

—Maria Shriver, bestselling author of Just Who Will You Be?

“Read now for some lively insights from the girl who kissed Elvis in the movies to the Mother Superior who gets the last laugh in real life.”

—Paula Prentiss, actress

Purchase your copy of Ear of the Heart.

More about Alexandra Kuykendall: Alexandra Kuykendall is on staff at MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers) where she encourages mothers of young children to keep growing as they take on their new mothering identity. She is a regular contributor and consulting editor to MomSense magazine, Connections magazine, and the MOPS blog. A frequent speaker for MOPS, Alexandra has been featured on Good Morning America. As the mother of four young children, she continues to refine her mothering identity. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband, Derek, and their daughters. Connect with Alexandra at http://alexandrakuykendall.com/

More about The Artist’s Daughter (Revell, 2013): It takes a lifetime to know what—and who—defines you.

When Alexandra Kuykendall became a mother, she knew she had to go back to the beginning. To that hot July afternoon in Barcelona when she met her father for the first time. The only daughter of a single, world-traveling mother and an absent artist father, Alexandra embarks on a soul-searching trip into the past to make sense of the layers of her life—both the memories she experienced and the ones she wished for.

The Artist’s Daughter will take you on a journey of discovery through childhood, marriage, and motherhood. Through short vignettes full of both wonder and heartache, Alexandra seeks answers to three life-defining questions: Am I lovable? Am I loved? Am I loving? If you long to better understand the path your life has taken, where it is heading, and who is guiding you, this revealing and refreshing story will push you toward those answers as it changes your heart.

“For every person who has wondered what love, family, and grace really mean, and for those of us who have longed to know that no matter our story, grace is the ending.”

—Shauna Niequist, author of Cold Tangerines, Bittersweet, and Bread & Wine

“The Artist’s Daughter brings to life the power of a story and at the same time challenges us all to dig in and discover the one we were created to tell.”

—Matthew West, award-winning musician

“A refreshing perspective on motherhood, forgiveness, faith, and belonging. I adore this book.”

—Emily P. Freeman, author of Grace for the Good Girl and Graceful

“Any mother who has felt lost in her new identity will find a friend in this book. It is the real deal—the hard, beautiful, and holy view of motherhood.”

—Lisa-Jo Baker, social media manager for DaySpring, and blogger at lisajobaker.com

Purchase your copy of The Artist’s Daughter.